Archives for March 2019

By: Husna Rizwan

Most initiatives around women’s economic empowerment are largely myopic in their approach. Failure to recognise role of men & masculinities in this context can pose a significant barrier to both women & men’s economic well-being.

Global commitment to women’s economic empowerment (WEE) has never been stronger. In past decade or so, WEE has become a popular development buzzword & has mobilised discourse, funding & programming on gender equality & women’s rights.

Everyone is on board, international agencies, Governments, multinational corporations, foundations, nonprofits & so on.

Following publication of 2012 World Development Report goal of WEE has been famously branded as “smart economics”, better not just for women themselves, but for economic growth & development at large.

However, one critical set of stakeholders is largely absent in buzz around WEE: men. According to a 2015 report by McKinsey Global Institute, bridging gender gap in workplace could lead to an addition of 60% in annual GDP for India by 2025. Programming on WEE has also flourished across varied sectors, with key linkages in fields of education, health, violence, conflict & so on. However, 1 critical set of stakeholders is largely absent in buzz around WEE: men.

Most initiatives in India that involve men are located primarily in realms of violence against women & sexual & reproductive health. In India, several platforms & programmes have emerged to foster men’s engagement, & evidence is promising. However, mirroring global trends, most initiatives in India that involve men are located primarily in realms of violence against women & sexual & reproductive health.

WEE initiatives are largely myopic in their approach, & often fall short of situating women’s poor economic status within context of their unequal power relations with men.

The widespread, glaring absence of men within WEE discourse & programming is best reflected in popular interventions such as microcredit & conditional cash transfers (CCT). These interventions tend to focus solely on women, without meaningful engagement with male relatives to challenge their norms, behaviour & attitudes.

It is impossible to achieve real empowerment for women without first involving men as supportive allies. WEE approaches that target only women can lead to emergence of tensions & hostilities between men & women.

Poor & marginalised men, in particular, are already struggling to maintain their breadwinner status within their families & may perceive WEE interventions as a direct threat to their positions within status quo.

Studies have demonstrated that many women engaged in economic activities are at heightened risk of experiencing violence.Studies from around the world, including India, demonstrated that many women engaged in paid work, vocational training & other economic activities are at heightened risk of experiencing domestic & other types of Violence. These studies further underscore importance of integrating men into WEE initiatives & challenging norms around masculinity for both men & women’s wellbeing.

Men’s exclusion from WEE initiatives also has very real consequences on women’s workload. WEE initiatives often treat women as a  “One-Stop” &  “cushion” for economic struggles & further reinforce gendered division of labour rather than challenge it. There is a growing body of literature suggesting that CCT interventions that target only women have serious ramifications on their time poverty & overall well-being.

Equally important is WEE programming on women’s unpaid care work, which is gradually engaging men in important conversations surrounding value of care, the distribution of household work & men’s own roles as husbands & fathers.

The 2017 state of world’s father brings these issues to forefront & highlights evidence that parent training initiatives for men can reduce violence, increase fathers’ involvement in childcare & expand overall gender equality in participating families. This is particularly important for WEE as women’s numerous domestic responsibilities can often constrain their options for productive work, as well as leisure & participation in civic & political life.

The 2014 ILO-WED issue brief on engaging men in WEE interventions draws upon existing literature & intervention evaluations to highlight importance of working across these varied levels.

WEE interventions can invite men to participate in trainings & capacity-building activities targeting women, as well as engage male household members specifically to challenge gender inequitable norms & practices.

Any project that promotes gender equality requires men to yield relative privileges that they possess. For example, India lacks national-level laws on paternity leave & benefits & men are largely absent from policies on reproductive & child health.  Interventions that encourage men to spend more time on childcare & engage with their children will continue to be held back unless gaps in national laws & policies are addressed.

Given their control over social, political & economic resources, men are gatekeepers for gender equality & are a necessary part of any strategy to advance women’s empowerment.

Engaging with men across multiple ecological levels is essential for advancing WEE. This is not an easy task, for any project that promotes gender equality requires men to yield relative privileges that they possess & build more equitable relationships with women & other men.

Engaging with men, or ‘men-streaming’, can thus reduce hostilities between men & women & foster their positive involvement & contribution towards WEE & larger goal of gender equality.

In India, the MenEngage associated Forum to Engage Men (FEM) is actively involved in advocacy, policy debates, program development & activism in this area. ICRW has also spearheaded several programs that engage men & boys, including Parivartan, Yaari-Dosti, Gems & Pankh.